In this photo, provided by the Russian Foreign Ministry Press Service, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang pose for a photo before the talks in Beijing, China, on April 14, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (February 4, 2026) that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the situation in Iran in a wide-ranging call as the U.S. administration pushes Beijing and others to further isolate Tehran.

Mr. Trump said the two leaders also discussed a broad range of other critical issues in the U.S.-China relationship, including trade and Taiwan and his plans to visit Beijing in April.

“The relationship with China, and my personal relationship with President Xi, is an extremely good one, and we both realise how important it is to keep it that way,” Mr. Trump said in a social media posting about the call.

The Chinese government, in a readout of the call, said the two leaders discussed major summits that both nations will host in the coming year that could present opportunities for them to meet. The Chinese statement, however, made no mention of Mr. Trump’s expected April visit to Beijing.

Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi discussed Iran as tensions remain high between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month. The U.S. President says he is weighing taking military action against the Middle Eastern country.

Mr. Trump is also pressing Iran to make concessions over its nuclear programme, which his Republican administration says was already set back by the U.S. bombing of three Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day war Israel launched against Iran in June.

White House officials on Tuesday (February 3, 2026) said special envoy Steve Witkoff is slated to take part in talks with Iranian officials later this week.

Mr. Trump announced last month that the U.S. would impose a 25% tax on imports to the United States from countries that do business with Iran. China is Iran’s biggest trading partner.

Years of sanctions aimed at stopping Iran’s nuclear programme have left the country isolated. But Tehran still did nearly $125 billion in international trade in 2024, including $32 billion with China, $28 billion with the United Arab Emirates and $17 billion with Turkey, the World Trade Organisation says.

China also made clear that it has no intention of stepping away from its long-term plans of reunification with Taiwan, a self-governing, democratic island operating independently from mainland China, though Beijing claims it as its own territory.

The Trump administration in December announced a massive package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion that includes medium-range missiles, howitzers and drones. The move continues to draw an angry response from Beijing.

.”Taiwan will never be allowed to separate from China,” the Chinese government statement said. “The U.S must handle the issue of arms sales to Taiwan with prudence.” Neither Mr. Trump nor the Chinese government in its statement raised whether the U.S. leader’s repeated calls for a U.S. takeover of Greenland, the Arctic territory controlled by Denmark, came up during the conversation.

Mr. Trump has made his case for the U.S. taking over the strategic island as necessary to rebuff Chinese and Russian encroachment, even as experts have repeatedly rebuffed Mr. Trump’s claims of Chinese and Russian military forces lurking off Greenland’s coastline. Denmark and Greenland as well as several European government leaders have pushed back against Mr. Trump’s takeover calls.

Separately, Mr. Xi also spoke on Wednesday (February 4, 2026) with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mr. Xi’s engagement with Mr. Trump and Mr. Putin comes as the last remaining nuclear arms pact, known as the New START treaty, between Russia and the United States is set to expire on Thursday (February 5, 2026), removing any caps on the two largest atomic arsenals for the first time in more than a half-century.

Mr. Trump has indicated he would like to keep limits on nuclear weapons but wants to involve China in a potential new treaty.

“I actually feel strongly that if we’re going to do it, I think China should be a member of the extension,” Mr. Trump told The New York Times last month. “China should be a part of the agreement.” The call with Mr. Xi also coincided with a ministerial meeting that the Trump administration convened in Washington with several dozen European, Asian and African nations to discuss how to rebuild global supply chains of critical minerals without Beijing.

Critical minerals are needed for everything from jet engines to smartphones. China dominates the market for those ingredients crucial to high-tech products.

“What is before all of us is an opportunity at self-reliance that we never have to rely on anybody else except for each other, for the critical minerals necessary to sustain our industries and to sustain growth,” Vice President J.D. Vance said at the gathering.

Mr. Xi has recently held a series of meetings with Western leaders who have sought to boost ties with China amid growing concerns about Mr. Trump’s tariff policies and calls for the US to take over Greenland, a Danish territory.

The disruption to global trade under Mr. Trump has made expanding trade and investment more imperative for many U.S. economic partners. Vietnam and the European Union upgraded ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership last month, two days after the EU and India announced a free-trade agreement. And Canada struck a deal last month to cut its 100% tariff on Chinese electric cars in return for lower tariffs on Canadian farm products.

Published – February 05, 2026 07:58 am IST

U.S. President Donald Trump attends a bilateral meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

China said on Monday (January 27, 2025) that it is willing to repatriate confirmed Chinese nationals from the United States, as U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs and sanctions on some countries if they do not cooperate on accepting deportees.

In recent months, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has sent five charter flights to China with hundreds of Chinese nationals deemed not to have a legal basis to remain in the U.S.

Also Read | U.S. arrests, deports hundreds of ‘illegal immigrants’, says Trump press chief

Nonetheless, U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials have been frustrated by what they say is Beijing’s longstanding refusal to cooperate on repatriation by declining to issue travel documents.

The department has warned of escalating consequences for Chinese officials, including visa sanctions, for refusal to accept tens of thousands of Chinese nationals in the U.S. under deportation orders.

“We have conducted practical cooperation with the migration and law enforcement departments of the U.S. and other countries, which has been productive,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters at a regular briefing in Beijing.

“As far as repatriation is concerned, China’s principle is to receive the repatriates who are confirmed as Chinese nationals from the Chinese mainland after verification,” Ms. Mao said, when asked if China would take back Chinese nationals who are in the U.S. illegally or without documentation.

Mr. Trump in his first day in office last week declared illegal immigration a national emergency, tasking the U.S. military with aiding border security, issuing a broad ban on asylum, and taking steps to restrict citizenship for children born on American soil.

The Republican President says the moves are necessary after millions of immigrants entered the U.S. under the Biden administration, both crossing illegally and through Mr. Biden’s legal entry programs.

“We expect all countries to accept the repatriation of their citizens who are in the United States illegally,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said when asked about China’s remarks.

The number of Chinese citizens encountered crossing the U.S. southern border without permission surged in recent years, from negligible to tens of thousands, as China’s economy faced headwinds and U.S. visas were harder to acquire due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Mr. Trump had threatened tariffs and sanctions on Colombia to punish it for earlier refusing to accept military flights carrying deportees. The White House said on Sunday it would not impose its threatened penalties because the South American country had agreed to accept the migrants.

Mr. Trump also has said he is thinking about imposing 25% duties on imports from Canada and Mexico on Feb. 1 to force further action against illegal immigration and fentanyl flowing into the U.S.

China’s relations with Japan, India and other countries are improving as former U.S. President Joe Biden courted, just as Donald Trump brings his more unilateralist approach back to the White House.

The change of leadership in Washington on Monday could be an opportunity for China, which has long railed against Biden’s strategy of building partnerships with “like-minded countries” to counter its growing influence.

Mr. Biden reinvigorated a grouping known as the Quad — the United States, India, Japan and Australia. China’s relations with all three of those U.S. partners are improving, as are its ties with Britain. The durability of Biden’s legacy is now in question. During his first term, Mr. Trump didn’t hesitate to challenge traditional U.S. partners.

“It is possible that Trump may drift away from U.S. allies, making them pay more attention to China’s role, and in fact it has provided a chance for China’s diplomacy,” said Wu Xinbo, dean of the Institute of International Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai. “I think we should grasp the chance.”

But U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said that Trump “has a record of rallying the world toward a more competitive stance with China.” Trump agreed to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy that Japan introduced during his first term and he backed excluding Chinese companies from telecom networks in the U.S. and many of its partners.

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio — hours after he was sworn in — met with the Foreign Ministers of Australia, India and Japan in Washington, a move that suggested engaging the Quad countries and countering China’s influence will remain a priority for Trump.

Beijing’s rapprochement with the U.K. and Japan is in its early stages, and major differences remain that limit and could derail it.

India turned the page with China on a bitter border dispute last October but protested when Beijing created two new counties in an area claimed by both nations.

Still, new leaders in Australia, the U.K. and Japan have shown a desire to warm relations with China, the world’s largest manufacturer and a source of strategic minerals. The government in Beijing has reciprocated in part because it wants foreign investment to help revive its economy, which could be set back if Trump follows through on a threat to impose higher tariffs.

Chinese President Xi Jinping told European Council President Antonio Costa in a phone conversation last week that both sides could bring more “stability and certainty” to the turbulent global situation. China and Britain restarted economic and financial talks after a six-year hiatus when the U.K. Treasury chief visited Beijing this month.

“From China’s point of view, improving relations with American allies and increasing economic cooperation will offset the shock to China-U.S. economic relations,” Wu said.

In Washington, there’s a strong bipartisan consensus that the U.S. must prevail in its economic and tech rivalry with China to maintain its global leadership.

During his confirmation hearing, Rubio called China “the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted.” Biden kept the tariffs Trump levied on China and imposed more on Chinese electric cars and solar cells.

But unlike Biden, Trump has irked U.S. allies and partners with his recent remarks on possibly annexing Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark, and making Canada the 51st American state.

Hal Brands, senior fellow at the Washington-based think tank American Enterprise Institute, said he believes some top strategists in Beijing are “salivating at the damage they think Trump is going to do to U.S. alliances and the opportunities this creates for Beijing to resurrect some of its relationships with … Japan and Europe that had moved in a very sharply anti-China direction since COVID.”

Trump’s rhetoric and attempts by adviser Elon Musk to interfere in British and German politics, “are certain to have a ripple effect,” said Sun Yun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington.

“Countries want to at the minimum keep their options open,” she said. “China is unlikely to be a better choice than the U.S., even under Trump, but it is important to find some counterbalance.”

China’s relations aren’t improving with every U.S. partner.

The Philippines complained recently about what it called a “monster” Chinese coast guard ship in nearby waters, and the foreign ministers of Japan and the Philippines said last week they would convey to Trump the urgent need for the U.S. to remain engaged in the region.

China and the Philippines did reach a temporary deal last July that has prevented further violent confrontations around Second Thomas Shoal, one of several outcroppings that both countries claim in the South China Sea.

Uncertainty about Trump’s policies is prompting both China and Japan to seek a stable relationship, said Taizo Miyagi, an expert on Japanese diplomacy at Chuo University in Tokyo.

A Japanese foreign minister has visited Beijing for the first time in seven years, and Chinese military officials were in Tokyo last week to resume defense exchanges after a five-year hiatus.

“In a way it is a Trump effect,” Miyagi said. “Many other countries are likely thinking the same and this could invigorate their diplomatic activities.”

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has sought to rebuild ties with Beijing since his Labour Party’s election victory last summer. It’s a marked shift from predecessor Rishi Sunak, who in 2022 declared an end to his country’s “golden era” of friendship with China.

In Britain’s case, Trump’s return may not be driving the rapprochement.

Many European leaders may not welcome Trump’s America-first agenda, “but the idea that as a result they will all kowtow to Beijing for more trade is fanciful thinking on the part of some of our Chinese friends,” said Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute at the University of London.

Most would prefer to remain partners with Washington. French President Emmanuel Macron, outlining his vision for global diplomacy in a New Year’s speech, declared that his country was “a solid ally” of Trump.

He and others hope that Trump will respond positively to their outreach. Much will depend on what path the returning U.S. president takes, and how the rest of the world reacts.

The American and Chinese flags wave at Genting Snow Park, Feb. 2, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China.
| Photo Credit: AP

The Chinese government placed sanctions on seven companies on Friday in response to recent U.S. announcements of military sales and aid to Taiwan, the self-governing island that China claims as part of its territory.

The sanctions also come in response to the recent approval of the U.S. government’s annual defence spending bill, which a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said “includes multiple negative sections on China.”

China objects to American military assistance for Taiwan and often imposes sanctions on related companies after a sale or aid package is announced. The sanctions generally have a limited impact, because American defense companies don’t sell arms or other military goods to China. The U.S. is the main supplier of weapons to Taiwan for its defense.

The seven companies being sanctioned are Insitu Inc., Hudson Technologies Co., Saronic Technologies, Inc., Raytheon Canada, Raytheon Australia, Aerkomm Inc. and Oceaneering International Inc., the Foreign Ministry statement said. It said that “relevant senior executives” of the companies are also sanctioned, without naming any.

Any assets they have in China will be frozen, and organizations and individuals in China are prohibited from engaging in any activity with them, it said.

U.S. President Joe Biden last week authorized up to $571 million in Defense Department material and services and military education and training for Taiwan. Separately, the Defense Department announced that $295 million in military sales had been approved.

The U.S. defence bill boosts military spending to $895 billion and directs resources toward a more confrontational approach to China. It establishes a fund that could be used to send military resources to Taiwan in much the same way that the U.S. has backed Ukraine. It also expands a ban on U.S. military purchases of Chinese products ranging from drone technology to garlic for military commissaries.

Zhang Xiaogang, a Chinese Defence Ministry spokesperson, said earlier this week that the U.S. is hyping up the “so-called” threat from China to justify increased military spending.

“U.S. military spending has topped the world and keeps increasing every year,” he said at a press conference. “This fully exposes the belligerent nature of the U.S. and its obsession with hegemony and expansion.”

The Foreign Ministry statement said the U.S. moves violate agreements between the two countries on Taiwan, interfere in China’s domestic affairs and undermine the nation’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Taiwan’s government said earlier this month that China had sent dozens of ships into nearby seas to practice a blockade of the island, a move that Taiwan said undermined peace and stability and disrupted international shipping and trade. China has not confirmed or commented on the reported military activity.

Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Senior Russian official Sergei Shoigu on Tuesday (November 12, 2024) told China’s foreign minister Wang Yi their two countries’ most urgent task should be countering “containment” by the United States, as they met for security talks in Beijing.

Moscow and Beijing have expanded military and defence ties since Russia ordered troops into Ukraine nearly three years ago, with Chinese President Xi Jinping one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s most important allies on the world stage.

But Beijing has also found itself increasingly stuck between a burgeoning alliance of Russia and North Korea, which has sent soldiers to Ukraine and this week ratified a landmark defence pact with Moscow.

Speaking to Mr. Wang in Beijing, Mr. Shoigu, the secretary of Russia’s Security Council, stressed the need for China and Russia to “counter the ‘dual containment’ policy directed against Russia and China by the United States and its satellites”.

“The comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation (between China and Russia) represent a model of collaboration between two powers in today’s world,” Mr. Shoigu told China’s top diplomat.

“Although it is not a military-political alliance like those formed during the Cold War, the relations between our countries surpass this form of interstate relations,” he said, quoted in Russian news agencies.

Mr. Wang affirmed the strength of Beijing’s relationship with Moscow, saying China-Russia ties have “withstood the test of (changing) international circumstances and have always maintained a momentum of healthy and stable development”.

“The more complex the international situation and the more external challenges there are, the more important it is for both sides to solidify unity and cooperate to defend common interests,” Mr. Wang told Mr. Shoigu, according to China’s foreign ministry.

– Russia at Airshow China –

Shoigu was Russia’s defence minister for the first two years of its offensive on Ukraine, before being moved to the Security Council by Putin after a string of military setbacks and criticism from the country’s influential military correspondents.

Mr. Shoigu is also expected to attend this week’s Airshow China, which showcases Beijing’s civil and military aerospace sector every two years in the southern city of Zhuhai.

Russia’s most advanced jet, the Su-57 stealth fighter, made a display flight at the show.

China presents itself as a neutral party in the Ukraine war and says it is not sending lethal assistance to either side, unlike the United States and other Western nations.

But it remains a close political and economic ally of Russia and NATO members have branded Beijing a “decisive enabler” of the war, which it has never condemned.

Last month, the two countries’ defence ministers pledged to deepen bilateral military cooperation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, meets with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Chinese President Xi Jinping met with U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Thursday (August 29, 2024) in Beijing, on a visit with the stated aim of keeping communications open between the two powers, as the relationship between China and the United States has become increasingly tense in recent years.

Mr. Sullivan, on his first trip to China in his capacity as the main adviser to President Joe Biden on U.S. national security issues, has met with senior Chinese officials including Foreign Minister Wang Yi and a senior general of the Central Military Commission.

China and the U.S. have become increasingly at odds over various issues, starting with a trade war dating back to 2018, and which now encompasses global security matters, such as China’s claims over the South China Sea, and industrial policy on things like automobile and solar panel manufacturing.

Also Read: Competition and conflict: On the U.S.-China relationship 

Both sides said Thursday (August 29) that they remain committed to managing the relationship. Mr. Xi and Mr. Biden met in San Francisco last November in an effort to improve ties.

“Although the situations of the two countries and China-US relations have changed greatly, China’s goal of being committed to the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-US relations has not changed,” Mr. Xi said, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

“President Biden is committed to responsibly managing this consequential relationship to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict or confrontation, and to work together where our interests align,” Sullivan said.

Beijing and Washington will also plan for a phone call in the coming weeks between Mr. Xi and Mr. Biden, the White House said on Wednesday. The White House statement said that both sides would keep lines of communication open.

There was no indication that the two leaders might meet in person before Mr. Biden leaves the Oval Office.

The White House said the two sides also planned to hold a military theatre commander phone call in the near future.

China has rapidly expanded its military, and there are concerns that Taiwan and the South China Sea are becoming flashpoints.

Mr. Wang, China’s top diplomat, told Mr. Sullivan that Taiwan’s independence poses the greatest threat to stability in the immediate region. He demanded that the U.S. “stop arming the island but support China’s peaceful unification”, according to a statement released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Taiwan, a self-governing island democracy that split from authoritarian communist China in 1949, has rejected Beijing’s demands that it accept unification with the mainland by peace or by force. The US is obligated under a domestic law to provide the island with sufficient hardware and technology to deter invasion.

The White House statement said Mr. Sullivan “underscored the importance of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait”.

Mr. Sullivan planned to meet with China’s vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, Zhang Youxia, on Thursday morning, according to a senior Biden administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the yet to be publicly announced meeting.

Mr. Zhang has spoken in the past of Beijing’s determination to take control of Taiwan. At an international naval gathering earlier this year in northeast China, Zhang said China would strike back with force if its interests came under threat.

He said that China’s territorial sovereignty “brooks no infringement and its core interests cannot be challenged. We do not provoke trouble, but we will never flinch in face of provocation. The Chinese military will resolutely defend the reunification and interest of the motherland”.

Beijing also warned Washington “not to support or indulge the Philippines to infringe” upon China’s rights and interests in the South China Sea. China and the Philippines have clashed over the Second Thomas Shoal, and lately the Sabina Shoal.

The U.S. military has pushed back against China’s claim to virtually the entire South China Sea, saying this week that it would be open to consultations about escorting Philippine ships in the disputed sea amid a spike in hostilities between Beijing and Manila on the issue.

The White House said that Sullivan reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to defending its Indo-Pacific allies and expressed concern about Beijing’s destabilizing actions against “lawful Philippine maritime operations” in the South China Sea.

The Philippines has called for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to do more. The 10-nation Southeast Asian bloc includes the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, which have South China Sea claims that overlap with each other as well as China’s and Taiwan’s.

The U.S. has shifted its policy with China from engagement to competition. The Biden administration has made it a priority to prevent the competition from spiralling out of control while seeking to collaborate with China in areas such as climate change, artificial intelligence and enforcement against illicit drugs.

John Podesta, the senior adviser to the president for international climate policy, will travel to China, and Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Wang discussed “next steps to reduce the flow of illicit synthetic drugs” and “continue repatriation of undocumented migrants”, the White House said.

In July, the U.S. Border Patrol made 1,851 arrests of Chinese immigrants on the border with Mexico, down from the December high of 5,951.

The two sides also agreed to hold a second round of dialogue over artificial intelligence, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

Mr. Sullivan raised continued concerns about China’s trade policies and nonmarket economic practices, the White House said.

Mr. Wang demanded that the U.S. “stop suppressing China in the areas of trade, economic and technology”, the Chinese foreign Ministry said.

By resorting to protectionism, the US would only “hurt the global green development and affect the global economic growth”, Mr. Wang told Mr. Sullivan.

Beijing:

The U.S. is clinging to wrong perceptions of China and has yet to fulfil its “promises” despite some progress since presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping met last November, China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday.

Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of an annual parliament meeting in Beijing, Wang said exchanges between both countries can only continue if both sides respect and recognize their differences.

“It has to be pointed out that the U.S. side’s erroneous perception of China continues, and the promises it has made have not really been fulfilled,” Wang said at the National People’s Congress.

“The methods of suppressing China are constantly being renewed, and the list of unilateral sanctions is constantly being extended,” he said.

The “crimes” the U.S. wanted to add to the list China had supposedly committed “have reached an unbelievable level,” Wang said.

Still, Biden had made it clear the U.S. would not seek a new Cold War nor seek to change the Chinese system or back Taiwan’s independence, Wang said.

In an annual and wide-ranging discussion, Wang struck a relatively measured tone as he also covered relations with Russia and the Ukraine conflict, Europe, China’s stuttering economy and artificial intelligence.

Wang said China would submit a draft resolution on AI to the United Nations General Assembly, reflecting the need for both development and security.

“AI should always be under the control of human beings,” he said.

UNEASY DETENTE

Tensions between the two superpowers have slightly eased since Biden and Xi staged their landmark summit in San Francisco last November, but they remain in an uneasy detente ahead of the U.S. election this year which could see Republican China hawk Donald Trump return to the White House.

Washington has repeatedly stated its desire to put a floor under the relationship after it spiralled to its worst in decades last year over issues including Taiwan, tech competition, trade and an alleged Chinese spy balloon shot down by the U.S. off its east coast.

China alleges the U.S. is trying to contain and suppress its high-tech development and industrial policy, while both militaries eye each other closely amid increased deployments across East Asia.

“So we urge the U.S. to understand the historical development trend, objectively and rationally look at China’s development (and) actively and pragmatically carry out interactions with China.”

Beijing also faces ongoing geopolitical confrontations on multiple fronts, including with Europe on trade and the Ukraine war, Japan across a variety of issues, as well as the Philippines over the South China Sea, a regional hotbed of competing territorial claims.

Wang said China is willing to work with Russia to foster new drivers of cooperation and consolidate friendship.

China and Russia had declared a “no limits” partnership in February 2022 when Putin visited Beijing just days before he sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, triggering the deadliest land war in Europe since World War Two.

Wang also announced an expansion of its visa-free travel scheme, saying that China will offer visa-free travel to nationals from Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg from March 14.

China currently has a mutual visa waiver agreement with 22 countries, including most recently Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.

China has also unilaterally allowed visa-free entry for citizens from nations such as Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy for 15 days. Those five European nations have yet to reciprocate with a similar arrangement for Chinese citizens.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks during a news conference in Beijing, Oct. 18, 2023. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will come to Washington for a three-day visit starting Thursday. It’s the latest move by the two countries to keep high-level talks open as the U.S. contends with China’s rise as a global power.
| Photo Credit: AP

China’s top diplomat Wang Yi will travel to the United States later this week, senior Biden administration officials said on Monday, in a long-anticipated visit that comes amid soaring tensions in the Middle East, which U.S. officials hope Beijing can help contain.

Mr. Wang will visit Washington from Oct. 26-28 and meet with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, officials said, declining to say if he will meet with Mr. Biden as well.

The trip will be the highest-level in-person engagement ahead of an expected meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in San Francisco in November. It is also the long-awaited reciprocal visit after several top U.S. officials including Mr. Blinken visited Beijing this summer.

Also Read | U.S., China pledge to improve relations, resume high-level talks after Blinken’s visit

Washington’s top priority has been to ensure the intense competition between the world’s two largest economies and their disagreements over a host of issues from trade to Taiwan and the South China Sea does not veer into conflict.

“We continue to believe that direct face-to-face diplomacy is the best way to raise challenging issues, address misperception and miscommunication, and explore working with the Chinese where our interests intersect,” said one official, who briefed reporters on the trip on condition of anonymity.

The visit also comes as Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks and Israel’s response dominate global headlines, even as Russia’s war in Ukraine grinds on.

Washington is sending military aid to Israel and Ukraine, while Beijing has grown closer to Russia since the Ukraine war began and has called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

The Israel-Hamas war and Russia’s war in Ukraine would both be discussed, a second official said, adding that the U.S. would “push the Chinese to take a more constructive approach on both.”

Also Read | Xi Jinping tells top senator U.S.-China relations impact ‘destiny of mankind’

Washington has placed importance on China’s ability to influence Iran. Mr. Blinken, during his whirlwind trip last week to the Middle East, held a phone call with Mr. Wang asking him to use Beijing’s clout in the region to ensure the conflict does not widen.

China has consistently called for restraint and a ceasefire in response to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza following the Hamas attacks that killed 1,400 Israelis but has also sharpened its criticism of Israel.

Territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas would also be on the agenda during Wang’s visit, the U.S. officials said, adding that Washington was deeply concerned by China’s “destabilizing and dangerous actions” in the South China Sea.

The Philippines, a U.S. ally, on Monday accused Chinese coastguard vessels of “intentionally” colliding with its vessels on a resupply mission, in the most serious incident yet in the waters around the disputed Second Thomas shoal.

Re-establishing military-to-military ties with China remains a top U.S. priority, the officials said, adding that meant sustained communications down the ranks and that China’s apparent lack of a Defense Minister would not be an obstacle.

Defense Minister Li Shangfu has not been seen in public for nearly two months amid a corruption probe.